Upon witnessing their fellow disciples being ruthlessly slain in an instant, the other cultivators turned pale, hastily activating their colorful protective barriers and defensive artifacts. Most of them fixed their gazes unwaveringly on the Confucian scholar, not daring to look away for even a moment. For the time being, no one dared to act rashly.
The woman surnamed Mu, her expression drastically changed, immediately distanced herself from Du Dong and summoned her silk ribbon artifact to shield her entire body. As for Sun Huo, the moment the Confucian scholar appeared, he stealthily retreated several steps, his eyes darting between the scholar and Du Dong, his face twisted in extreme distress.
Han Li silently slid into a corner of the meditation chamber, his eyes flickering as he observed the scene, lost in thought.
At that moment, Du Dong suddenly erupted with a surge of aura, his body enveloped in black light as dark runes snaked across his face and neck. In the glow, his body swelled violently, transforming into a towering giant over two zhang tall, with a ferocious visage and emerald-green eyes. His cultivation level instantly soared to mid-Core Formation stage.
“Excellent! When it comes to concealment and transformation techniques, the Thousand Illusions Sect is second to none in the South Sky. The ‘Great Luo Thousand Illusions Art’ truly lives up to its reputation as your sect’s supreme technique,” the white-robed cultivator laughed heartily, clapping his hands in delight rather than shock at Du Dong’s astonishing transformation.
“Hmph!” The giant Du Dong had become snorted coldly, offering no reply. Instead, his sinister gaze swept over the others before settling back on Han Li, a flicker of ruthlessness crossing his face.
“Whoosh!” “Thud!” Two sounds rang out in quick succession. The cultivators in the chamber saw the giant’s figure blur as a gust of wind heralded his sudden appearance beside Han Li, who was shielded by a protective barrier. With a single motion, the giant shattered the barrier and plunged his hand like lightning into Han Li’s chest, withdrawing it moments later clutching a bloody, still-beating heart.
Han Li’s corpse collapsed to the ground.
“Ah!”
The other disciples gasped in horror at the gruesome sight, their faces a mix of shock and fury, convinced that a massacre was about to begin. Fear gripped their hearts.
“Hmm?” The giant frowned slightly, a strange expression crossing his face as if he couldn’t believe how easily his opponent had fallen. He glanced at the heart in his hand, still warm—undeniable proof of the kill.
“What are you doing? You can’t just kill disciples here at will! Some of them have significant backgrounds. One of them is the direct descendant of that old monster Tianhen. Don’t act recklessly!” The Confucian scholar, startled by Du Dong’s sudden attack, roared in anger.
“Hmph, if you can kill one, why can’t I? Besides, this kid was suspicious—better to strike first. The descendant of Tianhen couldn’t possibly be him; he’s a new disciple like me,” Du Dong replied coolly before tossing the heart aside.
“As long as you’re aware! Though we don’t know whether Tianhen’s descendant is male or female, or which sect they joined, that old monster’s power is immense. The three sects would surely ensure their selection among the ten disciples to grant them the chance for the Clear Spirit Eye Cleansing. If we accidentally harm them, the consequences would be dire. As for the one I killed, I knew their background—definitely not the old monster’s kin,” the scholar said, his expression easing slightly but still grave.
“Fine, I won’t touch the rest. But we can’t have them causing trouble either. Let them take a nap,” Du Dong said with a spin, black light erupting from his body like a tidal wave, engulfing the entire chamber.
Just as the other cultivators began to relax upon hearing their exchange, the black light swallowed them, sending them spiraling into unconsciousness.
Surveying the unconscious disciples, the scholar nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s go. No more delays.”
“Understood.”
With that, the two strode toward the door.
However, as Du Dong reached the threshold, a flicker of unease made him glance back at the corpse he’d disemboweled. Han Li lay motionless in a pool of blood, unmistakably dead.
Chuckling at his own paranoia, Du Dong followed the scholar out, leaving the chamber in eerie silence.
But mere moments later, a young woman’s melodious voice broke the stillness.
“Brother Han, how does my Heavenly Fox Illusion Art compare to that Great Luo Thousand Illusions Art? That man wasn’t weak, yet he couldn’t even tell if he’d killed the real you. How amusing!”
As she spoke, the “corpse” of Han Li emitted a faint white glow before dissolving into silver light, coalescing into a snow-white fox the size of a foot, its head swaying playfully.
“Quite impressive. But it’s odd that you, originally of the Silver Wolf lineage, have mastered fox clan magic. Still, those two weren’t particularly strong. If they’d reached late-Core Formation, the deception might not have worked. And the Great Luo Thousand Illusions Art is indeed remarkable—even I couldn’t discern his true cultivation level when he concealed it,” Han Li’s voice echoed leisurely from the wall behind the fox.
With a flash of yellow light, he emerged from the stone wall, holding the wolf-headed jade scepter.
Unbeknownst to all, Han Li had stealthily merged into the wall earlier, leaving behind a doppelgänger conjured by Silvermoon using the fox’s body. Though the illusion couldn’t last long, it sufficed to deceive the two mid-tier Core Formation cultivators for a critical moment.
“So the technique is that formidable? Yet you saw through it at a glance,” Silvermoon pouted, unconvinced.
“Having cultivated the Great Development Art, my spiritual sense rivals that of an early Nascent Soul cultivator. If even I couldn’t detect his disguise, that technique wouldn’t just rank first in the South Sky—it’d be peerless in the world,” Han Li replied dismissively.
The fox tilted its furry head but offered no further argument.
Han Li stepped to the center of the room, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious figures before settling on the black-robed youth, Meng Di.
The fox, intuiting his intent, bounded onto the youth, yanking the storage pouch from his waist with its teeth before darting back to Han Li, presenting it obediently.
With a faint smile, Han Li accepted the pouch. A quick scan with his spiritual sense located the jade box containing the Spirit Stabilizing Pill, which he pocketed before carelessly tossing the pouch back onto the youth.
Since the pill was useless to someone of Meng Di’s level, Han Li saw no reason to hold back.
“Let’s go. Those two must have reached the Spirit Eye Tree’s cavern by now. We should follow,” Han Li said softly, tucking away the box. Wrapping the fox in his sleeve, he transformed into a streak of azure light and shot out of the chamber.
Outside, explosions continued unabated. Han Li listened briefly, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes before he dismissed it.
By the time he reached the cavern entrance, the stone door stood wide open, its restrictions dismantled—the duo had already entered. From within, angry voices echoed faintly.
“Brother Wei, what’s the meaning of this? At the critical moment, you suddenly back out. Have you forgotten the sect leader’s great kindness to you? Or after all these years in the Fallen Cloud Sect, have you truly forsaken your identity as a Heavenly Fiend Sect disciple?” Du Dong’s furious voice rang out.
Han Li’s heart stirred, but as he moved to approach, his expression abruptly changed. He vanished from the spot.
His spiritual sense hadn’t deceived him—the cavern now held seven or eight individuals, one of whom radiated the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Along with several Core Formation experts, they lay concealed beneath the cavern floor, poised to spring a trap.
Han Li stealthily infiltrated the cavern, concealing himself in a distant corner to observe coldly.
The hidden Core Formation cultivators were shielded by a faint yellow barrier, its caster none other than the blue-clad boy who should have been defending outside. This explained why the trio above remained oblivious to the ambush.
Further probing revealed the shield also concealed the blue-robed cultivator, the gray-robed elder, and two unexpected additions—the elderly man surnamed Fu and the Confucian scholar’s Dao Companion, the white-robed young woman. The woman, pale as a ghost, held an unconscious figure: the long-faced elder.
Han Li inhaled sharply at the sight, his mind racing with questions. The sounds of the array being breached outside hadn’t ceased—who was defending now? Or was the entire assault merely a ruse?
Just then, the disheveled elder within the golden barrier spoke calmly: “I know the Righteous and Devilish factions discovered an ancient Profound Heaven Vine near the Mulan Grasslands. Though withered, the Spirit Eye Tree’s sap could potentially revive it. That’s why sleeper agents like us, embedded in the three sects for years, were activated without regard for the original plan to overthrow them. Even you, Young Master Du of the Thousand Illusions Sect, risked infiltration under orders to ensure our cooperation.”
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